"When you know, you know," James told cleveland.com on Saturday. "My body was recovering so rapidly. I was doing three a days. I was waking up at like 6 o'clock in the morning, or sometimes 5 o'clock in the morning.

"I would do a Rise Nation class at like six. Go back home, eat, take a small nap. Get up, go to the gym, on the court, work out, go back home, chill with the family for a little bit. Take another nap and then I would go back at night time and work out again. I just felt my body recovering, the next day, like I was ready to go again. I was doing it like five times a week.

"And I just seen that my shot was getting better and better. My mind started getting stronger and stronger. I only took like a week off."

James turns 33 on Dec. 30. He's won four MVPs, a fifth would tie him with Michael Jordan -- which is a goal.

James admitted to reporters in his session after shootaround Saturday that it would "mean a lot" to win another, agreeing that "this is one of the best years I've had as far as how I feel and I want to continue that."

James also said, essentially, that he was playing for a contract -- his next contract and for the next, unnamed great player who is entering the twilight of his career.

James can be a free agent at the end of this season. No team could pay James more than the Cavs. Based on current salary-cap projections, he could command a five-year deal worth at least $207 million from Cleveland.

Keep that in mind as you consider his answer.

"I want to kind of try to break the mold just for the next generation, just take the narrative out of, 'You're past your prime when you hit 31,' or 'You're past your prime in your 12th year in the league,' or whatever the case may be," James said. "Hopefully I can break the mold so when the next guy comes, he can still get $200 or $300 million and be 33 years old. I'm serious."